


Lost, please return to ...

by CuteLittleVamp



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lost - Freeform, OC being an idiot, Obsessions, getting lost a lot, maybe OCxZsasz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2020-06-24 19:57:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19730722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuteLittleVamp/pseuds/CuteLittleVamp
Summary: Ash is new in Gotham and the only thing she wants is a little peace. Moving there to escape her parents and be closer to her uncle she soon notices that her bad sense of orientation is a huge problem in this dark city...and that is by far not the only problem she got after some unfortunate events that lead to her being more involved with her uncle's work than she ever wanted to be______________English is not my native language so feel free to correct me :)I really love english so I hope it's not that bad





	1. New in town

The first impression she had of the city was that it was simply dark. She started questioning her decision of moving here but she wanted to be closer to her uncle. One should maybe mention that she never bothered to tell him that she was moving to Gotham but well, here she was settling into her new live in America.  
Her new apartment was tiny but comfortable and very close to a park. She liked it. It wasn't in the city center and the neighborhood was actually really quiet. She liked it a lot. Of course she'll miss her home country but she needed a fresh start away from her parents and figured it wouldn't be bad to choose a location with a close relative nearby. Well, her uncle was her only living relative beside her parents, so it wasn't really hard to choose. Gotham was more or less the only choice.  
At least it was far away from her parents. They can settle their goddamn divorce on their own.  
The petite girl brushed some strands of her reddish hair out of her face and let out a sigh. Sooner or later she'll have to face her uncle so why not do it now? He'll most definitely kill her so better get it over with. After all, she already settled into her apartment and there's not much more to do for today.  
Getting up from her place on the little gray couch the girl put on her brown boots and black coat, grabbing her keys from the small table by the door before leaving.  
Taking the bus to the police station couldn't be that complicated.  
...

It was complicated. The redhead got lost twice before she finally managed to find the damn GCPD. She cursed her bad sense of orientation. Man, she could have been here about half an hour ago. Whatever, at least she managed to find it. Remembering the last time she was looking for something this could have been much worse. Like, really bad.  
Entering the building she noticed it wasn't really different from the rest of the city. Just dark, a little gloomy maybe. She sighed. How could someone work in a place like this?  
Now that she had seen a little more of the city she really regretted moving here. Well, at least she was a freelancer and could work from home. She would just curl up in her little apartment and only leave it if she really had to. Yes, great plan!  
"Can I help you with something?" Startled she took a step back, but it was only a police officer who had noticed her standing around at the entrance. "No, not really. I'm just here to see my uncle." The man looked suspiciously at her before shrugging his shoulders and walking away. 'Strange guy', she thought. 'Hell, I could be some insane freak with a bomb or something.' Shaking her head slightly she looked around the room, searching for her uncle. She finally spotted him sitting at a desk facing the opposite way. Walking over she noticed that he was talking to a younger man who stood right next to his desk. A colleague, she guessed.  
The young man noticed her approaching, stopping the conversation he had looking at her and that caused the other to turn around to see what caused the interruption.  
"Oh hell, no. What are you doing here?" She knew it. She knew he would react that way. "Hey there, Harv. Nice to see you, too." She forced a little smile looking at him sheepishly. He face palmed. "Why on earth are you here Ash?" He didn't use her full name. There was still hope. Taking a deep breath she began to speak quietly: "Well, I kinda moved here." "You what!"  
One could have heard a feather drop in the silence that followed his outburst. He stood now watching her fidgeting. Noticing how tense the two of them were the other man stepped into the conversation whispering something to Harvey before turning to Ash. "Nice to meet you. I'm James Gordon", he reached out his hand for her to shake what she did after shortly hesitating. "Ashling O'Neill. Just call me Ash, please." He nodded. "So, Ash, what about we three go somewhere a little more private." She looked him up and down. Nothing special about him. "Are you my uncles partner?", Ash asked suddenly. "Yes", he answered raising a brow. She just shrugged her shoulders, turned on her heels and started for the door. "Don't let her out of your sight, Jim. She gets lost every time she goes somewhere."  
Well, the three of them managed to get to a little bar nearby without Ash getting lost along the way. The redhead figured that Jim came along to calm Harvey down a bit. She doesn't blame him for being mad at her but the presence of the other man soothed her a little.  
Bad for her that the hard part about all this was to tell her uncle why she was here without telling him too much. So she tried ...

"I didn't tell you before because I was sure you wouldn't want me around", she finished her explanation. "So, let me get this straight. You moved here to become a little more independent and because of some kind of job opportunity." He looked at her suspiciously and she swallowed hard. "I also wanted to be a little closer to you for a change." "I feel flattered." He downed his remaining scotch in one gulp, then he looked at her again. "You're lying." 'Not entirely', she thought. The girl glanced at Jim moving her head to the door. He understood her gesture and stood up, excusing himself.  
"It wasn't a complete lie", she admitted after Gordon was gone. "Then spill." Harvey looked at her expectantly. She focused her brown eyes on her hot cocoa, not able to withstand his glare. "Mum and Dad are getting divorced and I ... I was just so sick of being pushed around between them." When she looked at him again his eyes had softened. "I'll be damned", he mumbled taking in a deep breath."Hell, it's not as if I could tell you what to do. I mean, how old are you now, kid? 23?" She nodded. "Just promise me to stay the hell out of trouble. You hear me? This city is dangerous. I don't want to find my niece dead in some alley." "I promise." She smiled at him. A real smile this time. Harvey returned the smile a little but he still didn't seem to be very happy about the whole situation with Ash. "Well, gotta go back to work now. Don't get lost on your way home, kid. Oh, send me your address." And there he goes. Never was one for family reunions. Ash smiled taking a sip from her cocoa. That actually went better than she had anticipated.  
'And, of course, afterall necessary things were said uncle Harv fled.' They always had a good relationship with each other. More or less. Most conversations they had were via telephone. The last time they saw each other was about a year ago. Harvey came to visit them in Cork. He stayed barley a week and only came at all because her mother insisted. It was nice having him around once in a while. She never saw him during the years where her family lived in Germany. Gladly, they moved back to Ireland when she was 14.  
But it wasn't all that bad. Spending a lot of her childhood abroad she managed to learn quite some languages. That's why she's working as a translator now.  
'I guess I'll head back home now. Hopefully I won't get lost again.' James had paid for the drinks so she just left the bar already feeling lost when she stepped out of the door. Pushing her hair out of her face she sighed. 'This will be one hell of a way back home.' Deciding to turn to her right she walked down the street. Taking out her phone to send Harvey her address Ash looked around for a bus stop. Having the good luck she always has she found none.  
"Goddamnit", she cursed. Lost once again.


	2. Lost kitten

'I actually managed to run in a circle', she thought to herself while staring at the GCPD building in front of her. 'A really large circle.'  
Shrugging her shoulders she decided that it would be best to just go in and ask her uncle to give her a ride back home. It's already late and running around Gotham at night didn't seem like a good idea.  
Maybe the precinct wasn't a good place to be right now either. Taking some steps inside she looked around, confused. “Where is everyone?”, she mumbled. Stepping closer to Harvey's desk Ash noticed that the glass part of the door to the chief’s office had shattered. “The hell happened here?”  
“Are you lost, kitten?” She almost let out a startled scream. When did these guys get here? Turning to face them the girl took in the sight before her. A man, tall and bald, flanked by two women dressed in leather. All were armed.  
'My damn luck.'  
“Well, I just -”, she stutters searching for the right words. Inhaling deeply she finally manages to collect her thoughts and continues without looking at the man directly: “I just wanted to ask my uncle to give me a ride back home.” Speaking fast she almost stumbled over the words while speaking. The only reaction she gets is a low chuckle from the man and the women grinning at her.  
'Man, I feel so stupid right now.' Ash was really fighting down the urge to face palm herself right now.  
“So, the kitten is indeed lost”, he grinned a little taking in her sight. She shifted nervously under his gaze and tensed instantly when his grin vanishes. “Who's your uncle?” Swallowing hard she stammers Harvey's name, biting her lip after she finished. He exchanged quick glances with the girls before stepping closer to Ash. “He's the partner of Jim Gordon, isn't he?” The way he pronounced it Ash was sure he knew the answer already but she nodded anyway. That man gave her the creeps.  
A small smile returned to his lips as he looked at her, obviously enjoying how she shifted nervously under his gaze. “We can give you a ride, kitten.”  
'This is going from bad to worse really fast.'  
A lump formed in her throat when the stranger put an arm around her shoulder and started leading her towards the door. 'Think, Ash, think fast.'  
“You know, I think I'll just take a taxi. Thanks though”, she said trying to get out of his grip, but he only held her tighter. “Relax, kitten. Gotham can be really dangerous when you don't know your way around. You definitely don't.” 'Am I so easy to read or are you just making fun of me?' The redhead was starting to get really pissed. At herself mostly. She shouldn't have entered the precinct in the first place. It was so obvious that something was wrong, but she just ignored it. 'Stupid me', she cursed herself.  
“Well”, she tried again “if you don't let me try I'll never learn.” He let out a sigh while leading her towards a black car standing just outside the building. 'How the hell did I not notice this? Am I really that stupid?' The man let go of her to open the door to the back seat. “Get in”, he commanded. So she did. Was it a bad idea? Hell, yes, obviously but he intimidated her too much to try anything funny like running away. She has never been a brave one and he was definitely in better physical condition.  
Shifting uncomfortable in the backseat she noticed that his girl squad was gone. 'When did they leave?' The sudden absence of the women made her even more uncomfortable. The mere thought of being in the same car as that man all alone made her stomach turn. At least she was in the backseat and not right next to him up front. Lost in her thoughts Ash didn't notice that he had gotten in until he started the engine.  
“Your address?” He looked at her through the rear view mirror. When her light brown orbs met his dark ones she instantly looked away. “Your address, kitten”, he repeated impatiently. So she told him. Not her exact address, of course. She wasn't that stupid.  
The drive to her home wasn't exactly pleasant. He drove way to fast and it seemed to amuse him that she was so visibly uneasy. Ash was clinging to the door as if her life depended on it and felt as if she was going to vomit any second. When the car finally stopped she let out an exaggerated sigh. He laughed.  
'Very funny asshole.' The girl glared at him when he turned around, a faint smile still visible on his face. “Never caught your name.” The way he looked at her like all this was completely ordinary for him made her blood boil. “Seriously, what is wrong with you?” Trying to just get out of the situation she pulled at the door, realizing that it's locked. He chuckled and she glared at him.  
“This is the first time you actually look into my eyes, kitten. Do I scare you so much?” The question took her off guard and she looked at him dumbfounded. “Just … just let me out of the goddamn car.”, she sighed pushing her hair out of her face. The man shrugged and got out, circling the vehicle to open her door just to block her way when she wanted to exit. “Your name?” 'Was that a question or a demand?' Seriously, she was too exhausted to hear the difference right now. “You didn't even tell me yours. So, why should I tell you mine”, she snapped back. 'At least I find the courage to talk a little back now. Thanks brain. Slow like ever.'  
“You don't know who I am?” The way he looked at her made her question a lot of decisions she made recently. Especially the decision of getting out of bed this morning. “Should I?” Crossing her arms she looked at him annoyed.  
Why the hell was she supposed to know baldy?  
He just studied her for a while, then he reached out a hand and helped her out of the car after she took it. “Name's Victor Zsasz”, he stated. “Very well, Victor” she let go of his hand the moment she stood beside the car. “I'm Ash. Thanks for the ride. I really hope we'll never see each other ever again.” She circled him, slowly stepping away from the car while speaking.  
Victor just watched her, making no attempt to stop her from leaving. After a while where he just stood motionless he closed the door and made his way to the driver's seat again. Before finally getting in he stopped once again looking at Ash. “Don't bet on it.” He winked at her then got into the car and drove off.  
“Asshole”, she mumbled watching him drive away. When she was certain he was gone she started walking the short way towards her apartment. She was finally able to relax again while taking the last steps to the 3rd floor and unlocking her front door.  
'I really hope I'll never see him again. He gives me the creeps.'

“His partners niece, hm”, he muttered while driving back to Falcone Manor. “This could come in handy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love Zsasz giving girls the nickname Kitten  
> Sorry .-.


	3. Looking for work

She couldn’t sleep that night so looked through the jobs section in the newspaper while watching TV. The news caught her attention. They talked about the incident at the precinct. Apparently one police officer was shot. Wait …  
“Are they telling me I’ve been in the same car as a freaking murderer?!” Ashling threw the newspaper against the TV, then she stood up and turned it off.  
Yeah, he hadn’t given her much of a choice but how could she be that stupid? Strange that his name wasn’t mentioned though. He acted like he was some big shot around here and he definitely stood out in a crowd …  
‘Something’s seriously wrong with this city.’ Ashling shook her head and went to get something to drink. She looked through the kitchen window down at the dark street while she poured herself some juice. Was that a black car down there? The young woman shook her head and sat down at the counter. Now she was starting to imagining things. That man - Victor - only knew the street she lived in, not in which house her apartment was and this was a apartment complex. It would take him some time to find her and, then again, why bother in doing so anyway? She was noone important. Damn, she only just moved her a couple days ago!  
This was nuts! She put down her glass so fast that she spilled some of her juice. “Great. Now I’m even too stupid to drink juice without spilling it,” she scolded herself. Reaching for a cloth to wipe up the spilled juice she looked out the window once again. The car was gone.  
“That was a blue car, not a black one,” she told herself pushing her red hair out of her face. “It was the car of a neighbor, who works the nightshift. Yeah, that’s it!” She repeated that ‘fact’ to herself about a dozen times before she finally went to bed.  
While making an easy breakfast Ash had the sudden idea to start working out. She had always hated sport but maybe she'd consider going swimming if she found a pool nearby. That'd be okay, but first she needed to find a company who searched for an translator. That couldn't be that hard. Finding a large company who needs a translator was always easy. Getting hired was normally the hard part.  
'Well, I have to try. Can't depend on my uncle to pay my rent. Maybe I should look for some places today. Better not put it off for too long.' She sighed and pushed her red hair out of her face. 'I should cut my hair while I'm at it.' Living off of her savings wasn't a very good idea, so she had to overcome her normally a little lazy self to get this done even if it'd take all week.

It did take all week and Ash was, well, exhausted to say the least. Staring at the traffic signs she let out a deep sigh. She had no clue where she was and her phone would die rather soon. Harvey was already pissed at her for calling him four times to pick her up these past few days, always in different parts of the city. It wasn't her fault that Gotham was so damn complicated! Well, at least she had found a job that paid decently. That was more than enough if she could just find a bus stop and get home …  
The part of the city she was in right now looked even more gloomy than what she had already seen and she started to wonder why anybody would want to live here or - even worse - raise a child in this neighbourhood. Then again, who was she to judge? She had her reasons to move here and she guessed, others had them too.  
Ash let out a deep sigh when it started to rain and she still hadn’t found a bus stop. “This is going from bad to worse,” she mumbled while zipping up her jacket. ‘No. I found a good job today, where I can work from home! So now I only need to find my way back there and then I only have to leave again to go groceries shopping and, of course, to the company to receive or hand in work. I can do this!’  
Just needed to find a way back, that is. Unsure what to do Ash just headed down the road towards the next crossing and looked for a bus stop. Nothing. ‘Guess being lynched is better than wandering around lost all night.’ She let out a deep sigh and took out her phone. It could die any minute now, only 3% left. Hopefully she could still give Harvey a call. After pushing her reddish hair out of her face she pressed the speed dial with her uncles number. It didn’t take long until he picked up.  
“Where are you this time,” he sounded so very pissed at her. “Somewhere near Chinatown, I guess?” She told him the street names. Harvey started to tell her something but her phone died right after he said ‘Just’. “Awesome,” she huffed and put her phone back in her pocket. Now she could only wait for him to arrive and that could take a while.  
The street was not very busy and here, only a couple of teens down the road who came her way. They looked a little shady - like they belonged to some kind of gang - so Ash stepped back a little. She felt a little bit safer standing in the shadow of the building, even though the teens had obviously spotted her already. The young woman watched them as they got closer until one of the boys stopped his friends and pointed somewhere behind her - the group turned around instantly and then they vanished around a corner.  
Ash looked behind her but she couldn’t spot anyone or anything that could have scared the group away but they were gone and that, at least, was something good. She could worry about whatever had caused them to leave if that something or someone would come at her. Hopefully that wouldn’t be the case.  
Nothing more strange happened while she waited for Harvey to arrive but she was very happy when she could finally see his Dodge approaching. He stopped almost right in front of her against the driving direction and looked rather mad.  
‘Maybe he’ll really kill me one of these days and make it look like an accident or something,’ she thought before getting in the car. He didn’t even make a sarcastic comment this time. That was bad.  
‘More likely he’ll just tie me up and put me in a package back to Ireland and it’s very likely that he won’t label it as fragile …’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I really didn't upload for, well, almost a year but someone just inspired me to start writing on this story again  
> This chapter is mostly focused on Ash herself and how her life's going  
> I still have to get back into the story but I hope it isn't that bad  
> Wish you all a nice day and stay healty^^


	4. Eating out - with its difficulties

She had been losing sleep. Partly because she had a whole lot of work to do now and even though she had more than enough time to finish it without altering her sleeping schedule, she wanted to finish it early. Maybe because she couldn’t sleep anyway.  
Every time she tried her thoughts started to run circles in her head. Mostly about that one day in the precinct. Ash had tried to ask Harvey about that strange man - what was his name again? Something with a Z or an S, she couldn’t remember it clearly. It was a slightly disturbing day and she had suppressed most of the memories of it. She did remember the car though and - maybe she was just going nuts because the city was so depressing - she had seen a very similar car in the streets near her apartment a couple of times.  
‘Many people drive black cars. Idiot, getting worked up about something so … so stupid.’ Maybe she was just getting paranoid.  
That was it! Yeah, she was just getting paranoid! Wait … that was bad. Ash let out a deep sigh and put the translation she was working on aside. Maybe she just needed to eat something. Good food can always lift one’s spirit after all! One problem though: “I forgot to go groceries shopping.” She slumped down in front of the fridge and facepalmed herself. It was way too late to go now as she would go lost in the dark. Finding the way to the store in bright daylight was hard enough as it is. “Come on now Ash. Surely there is a restaurant somewhere nearby,” she told herself, got up and closed the fridge again. It took her some time to find her wallet and short blue jacket, then she took the keys from the small table by the door and exited her apartment.  
When she left through the front door she almost fell down the few steps to the sidewalk. ‘Get a hold of yourself, Ash! People are staring.’ Internally scolding herself she walked down the road in hope to find a restaurant soon or at least a food stall. It did take her quite some time but she found a place in the end, a small italian restaurant. Well, pizza or pasta was always a good choice and there were still quite some people she could see eating through the big window. Even a family with children. Place couldn’t be that bad then, right? So she took a deep breath and entered.

It was a nice restaurant and they had great food, just the guys in the back seemed a little shady. She had just focused on her pasta, ignored the people around her and when she had finished she had paid and left. Not a big deal just … where did she come from? She thought from the left, so she turned right - normally her mind let her down when it came to directions and she actually recognised some parts of the way. That worked until the redhead came to the next crossing. “I really have a sense of orientation like an old blind woman with the Alzheimer disease.”  
Almost immediately after she said that Ash could hear laughter behind her and slowly turned around. There was a small group of young men behind her - all dressed in black and with matching symbols on their jackets. Some kind of gang, she figured. ‘Sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to deserve all this. I guess my past self was a real bitch.’ “Look, I’m not looking for trouble. Just going home,” she stuttered slightly taking a few steps back. “We can help you find your way home,” one of the man said while checking her out and she felt the deep urge to vomit. “No, really, I’ll be just -”  
“Are you lost again kitten? Maybe your uncle should lock you up.” Ash stiffened instantly when she felt an arm around her shoulders. The men went white as sheets and backed away, then turned and started to run. Guess he was a ‘big deal’. Big enough to remember his name, that is. Ash took a deep breath and pushed his arm off her shoulders or at least she tried to do so. “Seriously, what do you want?” It didn’t sound as fierce as she wanted it to. Did her voice tremble? ‘Gosh, grow a backbone Ash!’ “What a way to thank someone, kitten.” “Ash. My name is Ash.” “Yes, I know,” he said like it was obvious that he remembered her name. “Next time you should remember mine, too, kitten.” Damn it! Was it so obvious she forgot?  
“I … I’m sorry?” He didn’t answer and she couldn’t really look at his face while his arm was draped over her shoulders so it was hard to tell what he was thinking at all. Actually, she didn’t really want to look him in the eyes in the first place. Hell, she only met him once and she already lost sleep because of him and not in the good kind of way!  
Ash snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed he was - more or less gently - pushing her towards his car. ‘Oh no, not this time!’ “I can get home by myself! I don’t need your help. Thank you very much!” As she tried to wriggle out of his grasp once again she could hear him starting to chuckle and stopped her motions. “I’m certainly sure that you can get home by yourself. The question is how long it would take you. A very long time given that you forgot your phone at home.” Instinctively she reached for the pocket where she normally kept her phone in. Nothing. It really wasn’t there. But … “How the hell do you know that?!” “How about a deal? I’ll tell you after you get into the car.” Baldy let go off her after she huffed. He was right, though. It would take her ages to find her way home alone. Damn her sense for orientation! Maybe her mother had dropped her as a child. Taking a deep breath once again she went for the backdoor of the car. He stopped her when she reached for the handle. “This time it's the passenger's seat for you, kitten.”  
Now Ash had the deep urge to run away, but she was still sure that the man would have no problem catching her if he wanted to and she could see he was armed, so she went against her better judgement and circled the car to get to the passenger’s seat and got in. ‘Right next to the scary killer. Great. The highlight of the day.’ He got in after her and started the engine. ‘Interesting, he actually drives decently today.’ “There’s an envelope in the glove locker.” What? She looked at him, utterly confused now. “Take it.” Oh. Cautiously she opened the glove locker and there actually was an envelope in it. “And what -” “You’ll give this envelope to either your uncle Bullock or Jim Gordon. Preferably the letter. And kitten,” he glanced at her making her freeze “you will not open this envelope. Understood.” “Yes,” she nodded vehemently. “Good.” So she should play his little messenger now, hm? Great.  
He remained silent for the rest of the way then stopped directly in front of her house, grabbing Ash’s arm when she tried to get out. “Ow! What?” He twisted her arm slightly, pushing up her blue jacket. It seemed he wrote something on her arm with a marker. Then he let go of her again and she exited the car immediately, slamming the door shut. He winked at her before he drove off. She ran up the stairs to her apartment to feel at least a little bit safe again. That feeling of safety vanished instantly when she found her phone on the table by the door with a note:

Told you, you forgot it, kitten

Damn that guy! “I hate this city!,” she screamed before throwing her jacket to the ground and turned on the light to read what he wrote on her arm. “Victor Zsasz, right. That was the name. Damn bastard!”


	5. Confessions

Ash hadn’t slept at all that night. She had tried to get some more work done but she just couldn’t focus. After all, now she knew for sure that she wasn’t paranoid at all. He had watched her. Maybe only that one day to give her that strange envelope, that she had treated like it would go up in flames any minute. It didn’t matter if he had watched her more often. That one day was enough to put her on edge and the knowledge that he could obviously easily access her apartment was … well, she didn’t want to think about it anymore.  
As early as possible she left for the precinct, envelope in her bag. ‘Now I’ll have to tell him that I was there that one day.’ Harvey hadn’t talked to her about the incident with Zsasz at the precinct and she was sure, he thought, that she did only know what the news had said about it. It wouldn’t be pretty to tell him.  
She went straight up to Harvey’s and Jim’s tables when she arrived at the police station. Harv seemed annoyed, like most times when he saw her lately. “Got lost again? This early?” he huffed and took a sip from his coffee. “No, actually I didn’t.” “What?” He looked at her as if she had told him that pigs could fly. “How come?” “Pure panic, I guess,” she muttered while nervously playing with her hair. “Panic? Because of what?” Jim actually sounded concerned but it didn’t really ease her tension. “I got something for you.” She reached for the envelope in her bag and handed it to the younger detective. He took it looking rather confused, then, after looking at the content, it changed to a more ernest look.  
“Who did you get this from?” Ash couldn’t stand his gaze. “Why? What is it?” Harvey snatched the papers from Jim’s hands. “Holy shit! Ashling, who did you get this from?” It obviously took him a lot to not scream at her. ‘He uses my full name. I’m so done.’ “Um, you remember the first day I came here? Where we went into that small bar?” “Get to the point!” She really hated it when people screamed at her, especially family members. “I couldn’t find my way back home so I came back here.” It seemed like Harv wanted to scream something else at her but then his features suddenly changed and he went white. “Holy shit.” “Ash, are you saying Zsasz gave you that?” “Well, he did leave an autograph on my arm. Tried to get it off but it’s written in permanent marker.”  
The men exchanged a quick glance. ‘This will be even worse than I anticipated.’ “Ash, that day when you came into the precinct, what did you tell him?” Jim seemed genuinely worried about her. It almost made her feel bad for not telling them sooner. Almost. “I told him, that I came here looking for Harvey.” “You only used the name, right?” She looked away, Jim sighed and Harvey cursed. “Why is that so bad? He won’t come to me again now, will he?” There was a glint of hope in her voice, but it died soon when both men suddenly looked very serious. “Ash, look” Jim put the envelope, that he had held onto till now, down on his table “if Zsasz knows that you’re Harvey’s niece then he could try to get to us through you.”  
Ash swallowed. She hadn’t thought of this. ‘Damn it. The guy knows where I live. It’s not even a problem for him to get inside,’ she cursed internally. “What else did you tell him?” ‘ I should tell them …’ “Nothing important, really. I left as fast as I could.” ‘It would only worry them more and Harvey would be so mad at me. Maybe he’d even send me back to Ireland …’ Or he could make her move in with him temporarily. Both would be a nightmare. ‘I really dropped a brick there.’  
“Well, that’s something good then. Be careful though. That guy is good at tracking people down, so when something suspicious happens in or around your apartment then tell me or Harvey, understood?” She nodded deciding that she didn’t have to tell them the whole truth. It would be okay this way. Maybe.

Harvey drove her home in the evening because she had felt considerably safer staying in the precinct that day, even though she had been alone most of the time. Well, surrounded by cops, of course, but still somehow alone. They had told her a little more about Zsasz: that he was a hitman for a man named Flacone and described him as someone who would kill people for fun. When they arrived at her apartment she felt sick to the stomach and quickly excused herself to go up and hide in her bedroom. Maybe she would even be able to sleep a little, now that at least the damn envelope was gone.  
When she closed the door behind her she noticed that the light was turned on in the kitchen. ‘I thought I turned it off. Strange.’ She went to switch it off not really paying attention to the inside of the room, at least not until she saw something move inside the now dark room. ‘What the hell?’ Ash didn’t move and she couldn’t bring herself to switch the light on again even when the shadow inched closer towards her. The closer the shadow came, the better she could make out the person's features. “Just please tell me this is a fucking nightmare,” she said trying to look more or less composed. “No can do that, kitten.”


End file.
